The material for this unit can be found in Chapter 17 in your online textbook, and includes the following concepts:

17.1 (pgs. 476-482)

• Difference between weather and climate
• Composition of the Atmosphere
  • Origin and Formation of atmosphere (see page 495, short paragraph about volcanic outgassing in Earth history)
  • Major components & Variable components & Ozone (ozone layer, ozone formation, ozone hole & depletion, fixing the ozone hole)
  • Primary vs. Secondary pollutants and their sources

• Properties of the Atmosphere
  • Pressure and Temperature profile with atmosphere (altitude)
  • Layers of the Atmosphere

• Earth-Sun Relationships
  

  UNL Seasons Simulator

  • Motions of Earth: revolution & rotation
  • Earth's orientation & seasons (solstice and equinox dates and significance - what is happening on this day regarding Earth and Sun relationship?)
  • Position of the overhead Sun
  • Length of Daylight

17.2 (pgs. 483-487)

• Relationship between heat (energy) and temperature (measurement of energy)
• The three mechanisms of heat transfer and how they occur/affect Earth's atmosphere
  • Conduction, Convection, Radiation (don't worry about the 4 laws governing radiation)
• EM Energy
  • General characteristics (wavelength, speed, what humans can "see")
  • atmospheric windows (see diagram below regarding this concept)
• Radiation: Absorption, transmission (radiation goes right through with little change), and reflection
  • Reflection vs. scattering
  • Greenhouse Effect (DOES NOT EQUAL GLOBAL WARMING)
    • Greenhouse gasses

17.3 (pgs. 488-495)

• Temperature Controls
  • Amount of solar radiation received - main cause is variations in latitude - direct sunlight vs. indirect or shallow angle sunlight
  • Heating of land vs. water
  • Geographic position
    • Windward (from ocean to land) vs. Leeward (from land to ocean)
    • Landforms' influence, for example mountain ranges cutting off locations from marine influenced climate & temperatures
  • Altitude
  • Cloud cover & Albedo

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I. Evolution of the Atmosphere:

1.
2.
3.
4.
4.1

The great oxygen event lecture

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II. Atmospheric Structure and Characteristics:

Exploring the atmosphere Online Investigation


5.
5.2

6.

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III. Ozone Layer:

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

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IV. Human Influence - Pollution

12.13.14.15.

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V. Exploring the properties of the atmosphere via weather balloons and extreme skydiving:

18.
19.
20.
21.
23.
24.
25.

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VI. General Atmosphere Episodes:

26.
27.

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VII. Seasons and the Earth Sun Relationship:

28.

UNL Astronomy Seasons Lab

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VIII. EM Energy and Atmospheric Opacity:

Mantis Shrimp

29.
29.2
30.
Atmospheric Optics!
Astronomy and Infrared Radiation
Temperature and the James Webb Telescope
Spectrum 101
31.

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IX. Earth's Energy Budget:

32.
33.